● photo: julie soefer photography ●
I love these friends and thinkers because of their drive, their care for ordinary people, and their common-sense messages.
My kids: I continue to learn from my son, who keeps calm through everything, and my daughter, who suffered a life-changing concusion 2 years ago and inspires me every day with her determination.
Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos: This guy understands customer service. Shocked by the poor customer service of everyday life and riven to improve it, he stated, "People may not remember exactly what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel."
Jason Fried and David Hansson: These authors of Rework wrote the playbook for doing it yourself and reminded us that it's not about the fancy office. As they put it, "Cool wears off. Useful never does."
Malcolm Gladwell: With The Tipping Point, How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, and Blink- he put into words the most fundamental aspects of our irrational instantaneous ways of thinking.
Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, authors of Freakonimics: They took taboo statistics and made complicated subjects into themes the everyday person could understand. The book especially spoke to me with a chapter dedicated to real estate agents.
Joel and Heidi Roberts: Being interviewed can make anyone nervous. I am a shy person and they taught me that it's okay to be that way. Communication is about stories, and we should keep them short.
Jim Trippon CPA, and author of How Millionaires Stay Rich Forever: He is my accountant and friend who advises his millionaires to not use real estate agents, but to broker deals themselves.
Dan Cogdell: A great lawyer and friend. Dan is direct and to the point.
Joni Anderson: Many years ago when I had made a bad investment, I was having a pity-party for myself. Joni said, "Grow-up and quit acting like your life is over. Be thankful you know how to earn money, and now get on with your life."
Keith Cunningham, best-selling author of The Ultimate Blueprint for an Insanely Successful Business: I went to his seminar an learned two important life lessons. First- for most people, Hell on Earth would be meeting the person you COULD have been. Second, money is like your husband/wife. If you don't pay attention, it'll leave you.
Dave Ramsey: I love anyone who helps people make better choices. He has a common sense approach to finances--making seemingly complex situations approachable. I love his term: "stupid tax" for mistakes we've made with money.
Suze Orman: Her financial guidance is a huge benefit to our society. As I like to say, take your left hand and shake your right hand to meet the person responsible. She emphasizes our ability to achieve.
Clark Howard: The title of his book says it all--Living Large in Lean Times. I love his book because he thouroughly self-researches his topics and provides practical methods to implement his advice.
Dan Kennedy: He has written several books, but what I admire most about him is his fresh, honest approach. People are so tired of being misled; they just want to hear the truth in plain speech. His books always start with the title "NO B.S."
INSPIRATION